AB0159 THE POSITIVE EFFECT OF VITAMIN D3 AND Α-TOCOPHEROL ACETATE ON PULMONARY ARCHITECTONICS IN AN EXPERIMENTAL MODEL OF SYSTEMIC SCLEROSIS
Authors: B. Doskaliuk, L. Zaiats, R. Yatsyshyn
Journal: Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases (2023)

<h3>Background</h3> Systemic scleroderma (SSc) is an autoimmune disease characterized by a wide range of clinical manifestations. One of the main targets of this pathology is the pulmonary system. In turn, SSc-associated damage of lung structures is characterized by a significant negative impact on the survival and quality of life of patients. <h3>Objectives</h3> Therefore, we aimed to assess the possible favorable influence of vitamin D3 (VD3) and α-tocopherol acetate (ATA) on the morphological structure of lungs' parenchyma in the experimentally induced SSc. <h3>Methods</h3> We assembled our experimental animals into three groups: a control group (CG) (20 animals), an experimental group (EG) #1 (25 animals), and #2 (25 animals). Experimental animals were mature laboratory rats, belonged to the Wistar line, and were 180-220 g of weight. Animals in EG #1 were injected with sodium hypochlorite (NaClO) according to the reported previously schedule [1] for SSc modeling purposes. Laboratory animals of the CG were receiving isotonic solution according to the same scheme. In EG #2, rats were subjected to intramuscular injections of ATA solution 10 mg/ 100 g of body weight, and of a VD3 solution 1000 IU/ 100 g of body weight for 3 weeks (second half of the experiment performance). All three groups of animals were removed from the experiment 8 weeks after its beginning. The lung tissue specimens were examined using light (Leica DM750, x200 magnification) microscopy. Data distribution was evaluated with descriptive statistics, and a p&lt;0.05 was considered statistically significant. Statistical analysis was carried out using IBM SPSS version 26. <h3>Results</h3> The lung parenchyma samples obtained from CG did not show significant deviations from the normal histological picture. (Figure 1A). The histological analyses of lung specimens of experimental animals reviled non-specific interstitial pneumonia (NSIP) which is the most common type of SSc-associated interstitial lung disease (ILD) (Figure 1B). There were productive and sclerotic modifications of the interalveolar septum, their infiltration by the lymphoid and plasma cells with significant disfigurement of alveolar structure. (White arrow – alveolar wall thickening; black arrow – thickening of basal membrane of microvessels). After using VD3 and ATA animals demonstrated a distinct decrease in the intensity of lymphoid and plasma cells infiltration of interalveolar spaces (Figure 1C). Furthermore, the sclerotic alteration of the alveolar-capillary barrier was less prominent compared to EG #1 specimens. The Ashcroft score was significantly higher in EG#1 (3.7±0.6) compared to EG#2 (1.8±0.3) (p&lt;0,05) and CG (0.6±0.1) (p&lt;0,05). <h3>Conclusion</h3> This study confirms positive effect of vitamins D3 and α-tocopherol acetate on morphological structure of pulmonary parenchyma in the preclinical model of SSc. <h3>Reference</h3> [1]Doskaliuk B, Zaiats L, Yatsyshyn R. AB0090 The biochemical basis of animal model of systemic sclerosis. Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases 2021;80:1074. <h3>Acknowledgements:</h3> NIL. <h3>Disclosure of Interests</h3> None Declared.